


Just in Passing

by Luvless34



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997), Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020), Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Genre: Bromance, Complicated Relationships, Crushes, F/M, First Love, Long-Distance Relationship, Male Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-18
Updated: 2020-10-18
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:26:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27087820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luvless34/pseuds/Luvless34
Summary: Cloud Strife is about to return to Nibelheim for the first time in two years since he left to become a SOLDIER. When he failed to make the cut, he dreads his mission that would force him to reveal his failures in front of the people he cares most...especially for a certain neighbor who he wanted to impress with his strength.All the while Zack Fair tries to convince him to return home and face his loved ones, and maybe touch on some girl issues he's having of his own leaving behind a flower girl who he wanted to spend more time with...but knows it's next to impossible.
Relationships: Tifa Lockhart/Cloud Strife, Zack Fair/Aerith Gainsborough
Comments: 1
Kudos: 20





	Just in Passing

A million thoughts swirled around Cloud Strife’s mind as he frantically started pacing the floor of the training facility near Midgar for SOLDIER recruits and Shinra infantry. Though many of the grunts didn’t choose to train on their days off, Cloud found solace in working out and finding peace in the sweat that he normally gave off. 

Tonight was different, and instead of finding peace, Cloud could only wrestle with his inner chaos and demons. Tomorrow, he and several folks were going to be leaving Midgar and head towards another continent to dispatch monsters that were reportedly terrorizing a mountain village that had a reactor site. 

It was a place that Cloud knew well, and it was the last place he wanted to go. 

After Sephiroth revealed that they were to be dispatched to Nibelheim, Cloud felt as if there were weights tied to his feet and that he wanted to find an excuse to get out of the mission. He was selected to come escort the personnel to town, but it was the last place on earth he wanted to go. For two years, he cut off contact with anyone from his hometown, including his mother. 

Just as when Cloud wondered if he could accidentally break an arm or leg during his workout that night, a man walked into the room. It was a familiar face that prompted Cloud to take a moment and relax. 

“Hey!” The man with black spikes said with a toothy grin. “Cloud!”

“Zack.”

Zack Fair comes from a rural town with a backwater name like Gongaga. They both joked that the only thing out there in the boonies was a Mako reactor, otherwise, no one really gave a shit about their towns. Yet, they both were considered “country boys.”

“Nice to see someone working up a sweat,” Zack said with a shrug. He took a look around the training room and then frowned. “But, how long have you been out here for?”

“Long enough,” Cloud retorted. He then sobered. “Just...needed some time to cool off.”

“I saw that,” Zack said with an auspicious look. “Need a partner?”

“Sure.”

Zack and Cloud faced off and they slowly bowed to one another before assuming a fighting position. Cloud wasn’t really good at hand-to-hand combat, and neither was Zack. However, it didn’t take too long before both men were working up a sweat from dodging and defending their bodies from taking consecutive hits. 

“So, what’s up?” Zack asked, dodging Cloud’s punches. “You seemed kind of worried about where we’re headed.”

“You know, that’s where I’m from,” Cloud responded while ducking one of Zack’s counterattacks. He breathed through his nose and exhaled from his mouth. “Remember?”

“Oh right, ditto Nibelheim,” Zack chortled. “Thought you’d be happy to go back home and visit your mom and stuff.”

_ Smack _ . Cloud punched Zack’s open hand and withdrew quickly. The blonde gritted his teeth. Sweat dripped down his temples like a small stream. “It’s complicated,” he huffed. “You get it. Small towns. Lots of gossip. Nothing stays a secret anymore, you know?”

_ Smack. Wack. Crack.  _ Zack tried dodging some of Cloud’s hits, and successfully countered them with jabs of his own. Cloud also countered perfectly.  _ Smack. Wack. Crack.  _ “I know, man. Why do you think I left Gongaga? Nothing else out there, and I knew I wanted a world bigger than living in a place where there’s nothing for me.”

“Yeah,” Cloud nodded. “You  _ do  _ get it.”

But there were personal reasons why he didn’t want to go back. Not while he was still wearing the regular Shinra infantry uniform. They were considered jokes. At least, within the company. They’re expendables, and Cloud couldn’t go back to Nibelheim as one of them. Not after making such a big deal about coming back as a hero and that the village would hear of his deeds. 

_ “Some promise that turned out to be,”  _ Cloud thought bitterly to himself. The blonde infantryman sighed and decided that maybe he could try training a little harder and retake the exam to get into the ranks of the elite SOLDIER group. But, there was always something that held him back from trying again. 

Cloud had aggressively trained with the fellow recruits for several months at a time. He endured the tireless hours of studying to climb up the ranks to achieve his overall dream of getting into SOLDIER. But, it seemed that he can do everything like an ideal candidate to physically embody someone who’d make the prestigious ranks, he couldn’t measure up to the mental capacity of what it took. 

SOLDIERs were considered Shinra’s industrial secrets in themselves. Though not many people know what the cost was for becoming one of the elite, the price might be too steep. Many failed to realize that the process of becoming a SOLDIER meant being infused with Mako energy, which had higher risks of cellular degradation. 

In exchange for powerfully-enhanced skills, it meant that their molecular structures would begin to deteriorate until there’s nothing holding them together. They’d fade away into the Planet’s Lifestream, and leave no trace of themselves behind. But, if the public knew that, they’d label Shinra as inhumane and cruel. They’d lose confidence in the governing entity that provides them the essential comfort it took to live out each day. 

Administration and leaders made it clear that choosing the path of SOLDIER meant no privacy. There was no chance for you to retire. They’ll keep their tabs on you and follow you through the ends of the Planet to make sure you don’t spill anything that they don’t want the public finding out. 

Despite being a lowly grunt, his experiences weren’t all that bad. Rather, he did make some friends along the training process. He decided that while he may not be in SOLDIER, Cloud could still make some money earning a living and trying to rebuild his own life beyond his small bubble of the world. 

There was Kunsel, a SOLDIER Second Class who was rather knowledgeable and kind to those outside of SOLDIER ranks. He’d always be around to check in on the grunts, and whenever he met Cloud, he’d share drinks with him and try to answer any questions he might have about the initiation process. 

Cloud shook his head. Though, Kunsel seemed more interested in wandering Midgar and catching another showing of LOVELESS than being invested in Shinra business. Whenever there was something though, Kunsel could be seen talking to fellow members and it’s clear that there was some skepticism in the ranks. 

About what though, Cloud was never really certain. It was during their sparring practice that Cloud found out the conflicting emotions that his friend was having about the entity and the methods they abide by for holding Shinra’s interests all over the world. 

And then, there was Zack. His friend from the upper ranks who seemed to believe that he could eventually make it into SOLDIER eventually. Cloud was grateful to have him in his corner, and the way Zack could lead missions with such confidence and gusto was something he could admire and emulate himself. 

Though, whenever Cloud talked about joining SOLDIER eventually, there always seemed to be a moment of hesitation in Zack’s eyes and something that appeared to be a reluctance in his achieving a goal like that. He didn’t question it until Zack started bringing up his own inquiries to Cloud. 

“Hey...so, why did you want to join SOLDIER in the first place?” Zack asked abruptly.Cloud was so caught off-guard by Zack’s questioning that he failed to dodge a punch to his cheek, causing the blonde to land on his back. The connection of Zack’s fist to Cloud’s must’ve shocked Zack too. He quickly ran over and hovered over his friend. 

“Oh shit! Sorry man,” Zack said, holding out a hand to his friend. Cloud accepted the help, letting Zack pull him up and getting him back on his feet. “You OK?”

“I’m fine...thanks.” Cloud sighed. He ruffled his blonde hair and groaned. “Damn it.”

“Hey, you’ll be fine,” Zack said with a grin. “Keep taking punches like a champ, and maybe one of the exam proctors will revisit a retake of the test! SOLDIER First Class material right here! Oh yeah!”

Cloud couldn’t help but chuckle at his friend’s insistence that he’d make SOLDIER, though they both know that he failed a significant portion of what it took to become one of the merciless candidates to take on the prestige of SOLDIER First Class. No matter how hard they trained on the physical, the mental obstacles would be what fails Cloud each and every time. 

“Sure,” Cloud said with a laugh. “I look forward to retaking the dance routine...again.”

“Hey! You never know what someone might ask you to do,” Zack said, though blushing in embarrassment. “Whether it’s to cap off a political enemy, or you might need to dance for your life if the situation depends on your ability to dougie it out.”

The two men broke out in laughter at the thought, and a silence fell between the two of them. Cloud sighed and stared outside through the window of the training facility. Night was falling. 

“Hey, I’m gonna probably hit the showers and get ready for bed,” the young man said to Zack who nodded. “I’ll catch ya later.”

“Sure thing,” Zack said. He looked as if he was going to walk off but then he stopped and turned back toward Cloud. “Hey, even if you don’t ever make it into SOLDIER...you have more worth than just some fancy title. You know that right?”

Cloud shrugged, a little bewildered by Zack’s proclamation. “I guess. I don’t know what I’d be doing if I wasn’t working for Shinra...there wasn’t really anything for me back home. No prospects...just I guess doing what the other guys did in town. Just move on and settle down somewhere.”

Zack seemed preoccupied with some thoughts of his own. He then turned to Cloud. “Say...do you have a girl back home?”

“Huh?” Cloud said, taken aback. “What do you mean?”

“Like...a girlfriend,” Zack said, clearly struggling internally with what he was trying to get across. “I mean. Do you ever miss someone and wish things could be different? Things like spending time with them, and not worry about having to rush to a mission every damn time you think you’re moving along?”

Cloud paused and then shook his head. “I don’t have a girlfriend.”

“Oh...I mean. Sorry, didn’t mean to assume,” Zack said. “I mean,  _ someone _ waiting for you back home. Even if it’s a boyfriend too.”

Cloud blushed a deeper shade of red. “No,” he said while shaking his head. “I don’t have a boyfriend either.”

Zack didn’t seem satisfied with his answer, but didn’t pry. Then, the blonde continued unprompted. “Not that...well...there is  _ someone _ I think about a lot. But, we weren’t the closest. We just lived completely different lives. That’s all.”

“Oh?” Zack seemed keen on this revelation. “And...you think joining SOLDIER would change any of that?”

“Not exactly,” Cloud answered slowly. “I don’t know if it’ll make that much of a difference. But, I do want people to see me differently than some scrawny little kid who got into fights all the time. It’s time that I grew up...ya know?”

“I get it,” Zack nodded empathetically. “I wanted to leave Gongaga. There was nothing happening out there, and just the idea of living life the same way as my parents suffocated me.” He lifted his arms up wide as if he was flying. “I think the sky’s a lot bigger and open than just from where you’re standing. It’s the same sky you can see from Midgar or Gongaga or Nibelheim.”

Suddenly, Zack’s expression changed from his usual cocky and happy-go-lucky demeanor to one of sadness. Cloud grew even more confused by this change. “You OK?”

“Yeah...the sky looks the same wherever you’re at, right?” Zack said poignantly. “So...chances are that if someone’s watching the sky wherever they’re standing, you’re looking at the same thing. Maybe...just maybe...they’re looking for something to connect you to them, wherever you are.”

Cloud grew skeptical at this, but he then shook his head. “Who knows?”

* * *

Night had fallen at the training base for Shinra security. Most had gone to bed back in the barracks, but Cloud decided he needed some time to think. He couldn’t exactly do that with his fellow recruits back on-site. So, he slipped away and made way for a spot near the base’s entrance that he found to be quite peaceful. 

It was a grassy spot where he would often lay down and pretend that was back in his hometown. He could almost reimagine his mother cooking beef stew through the kitchen window while the villagers would continue doing whatever they needed to do to survive their provincial life. 

Sometimes, Cloud could hear music coming from someone playing the piano next door. He knew it was his neighbor, the town’s sweetheart. Though he’d never admit it to anyone, he’d often come outside just to see if he can catch a private performance. The music that would come through the window would make him feel calm and relaxed. 

Rarely, there was anything else that would get him to stop and to take the moment as it came. But, it was her playing the piano that he remembered more than anything. He wished that he could make music, but he never really summed up the courage to ask her if she could give him a pointer or two. 

They weren’t really close, Cloud thought bitterly. For all the years they lived right next door to each other, they never spent time together. The other neighborhood boys always flocked over to her, and it wasn’t her fault either. She exudes this type of kindness that made anyone bend over backwards for her. 

Though, he wasn’t really one of those guys. Instead, he chose to admire from afar. Or, at least underneath her window whenever she started playing the piano during the day. His mother, Claudia Strife, would catch her son every now and then listening to the music, and she’d smile knowingly. 

The young infantryman sat on the grassy knoll and breathed in the humid summer air. He could catch a faint scent of honeysuckle and wild prairie sunflowers in the mix. It felt almost like he was back near the grassy areas of Nibelheim that sat at the base of Mt. Nibel. Cloud wasn’t one for nostalgia, but he could feel a faint homesickness spreading inside his heart. 

He thought more about what Zack shared with him, and he looked up at the night sky with a small glimmer of hope that the person he thought about would be staring at the same stars and moon wherever she was. Cloud couldn’t help but wonder if she was still playing the piano from her bedroom, or if she found a boyfriend during the two years he had been away from Nibelheim. 

It was likely, Cloud thought miserably, since the girl he hoped to impress had so many other boys in town who wanted to be the one she spent the most time with. He was just her next-door neighbor, and they hardly interacted. Though, he remembered the night that he had secretly called out to her and to meet up with him at the town’s water tower. 

She still came, despite knowing that was the town’s date spot for the lovelorn teens. He never thought that she would come, and it was starting to get a little too cold for him to wait around any longer. But, when she showed up in that little blue dress and smile, Cloud felt it was worth the wait. 

There, under the witness of the stars, he vowed to become a SOLDIER and that if she were to ever be trapped or in trouble, he’d come save her like a hero would. It seemed silly, thinking about it and how hard-pressed she was into him keeping a childhood promise, but it was those words that kept him going through all the grueling training. 

Whenever Cloud thought about it, the more his heart started to sink. He can never show his face again after failing to make the ranks. What good was it to come back home and all he had to show for the last two years of work is just being an average grunt? How would that look to the girl who he hoped to impress?

“Sorry,” Cloud mumbled to himself. 

“It’s OK.”

Cloud jumped, wondering in a panic of the girl somehow heard him and instead, found Zack staring at him with a grin. He sighed. “Don’t scare me like that! Could’ve knocked you out.”

“I doubt it,” Zack said cheekily. The senior then took a seat next to Cloud on the knoll and looked at the sky with his friend. The two sat in silence and took in the quiet. “It’s weird being this quiet.” 

“I don’t know,” Cloud shrugged. “I kind of like it. Makes you think.” The blonde paused for a brief moment before starting to open up more. 

“Hey Zack...do you have someone waiting for you too?”

“Hm?”

“I mean...you asked before if I had someone. But, I’m guessing you’re also thinking about someone too if that’s what made you bring it up?”

Cloud looked over at his superior, and was stunned to see Zack looking sad. It wasn’t normal to see him take on such a somber look, and just when he started to regret asking him about such a personal question, he was more taken aback that Zack started smiling again. 

“Yeah, actually I do.” Zack ruffled his black spikes before grinning. “There’s this girl who’s back in Midgar that I met a while ago. Any time I come back to the slums, I hope to run into her again. It’s funny. We didn’t exactly meet under the normal way. I sort of just...dropped in.”

“Oh. Why don’t you ever talk about her?” Cloud asked curiously. “I mean...she sounds nice.”

“It’s complicated,” Zack answered honestly. “I wish that I can spend more time with her, but work always gets in the way or I have to go somewhere for a while. You never know when you might be able to shoot the breeze with them. That’s what’s hard about being in SOLDIER. Most guys don’t want to settle down with a girl, ya know? You’re constantly moving around, and it’s hard on both folks.”

“But...she must be special if you’re thinking about her all the time,” Cloud said more to himself than Zack. “I mean...hell, guys don’t usually waste words if they don’t mean them.” He paused again. “Maybe you should write to her when you get a chance.”

“Ha, you giving love advice now?” Zack said with a slight sarcastic tone, but in a good-natured way. “Are you going to take your own?”

“Maybe,” Cloud said quietly. He looked up at the sky and frowned. “I don’t know…”

Zack frowned slightly, and then he also looked at the moon. Suddenly, he started laughing to himself. “Funny. The girl I’m kind of seeing, she said she was afraid of the sky.”

Cloud looked baffled at this revelation. “That’s….kind of weird. What did she mean by that?”

“I don’t know, I think she grew up under the plate,” Zack shrugged. “So, I’m guessing that the openness seemed overwhelming for her? But, nothing can grow underneath that thing.”

Cloud started chuckling, prompting Zack to look over at his friend. “What’s so funny?”

“Things find a way,” Cloud replied. “I think people find that they can find out what they’re made of if the situation calls on them.”

“Since when did you become so wise?” Zack asked. “Were you always this introspective?”

Cloud shrugged, trying to hide his smile. But, he couldn’t help but feel that he should take his own advice. Though, he desperately wished that things were different for himself and that he wouldn’t have to hide his failures from the one person he was slowly discovering his own feelings for. 

“Well, Cloud,” Zack asked. “Is this reason for SOLDIER training...do you think that person was worth it all? If you had a chance to go through it all again, knowing that it’s possible that you might not make it, would they still consider you worthy in their eyes?”

The blonde lowered his gaze. He thought for a moment about what Zack was implying and then he slowly turned toward his friend again. “It’s not that...I know that she won’t think it’s that big of a deal. Like, even if I feel like I let her down, she won’t hold it against me.”

Zack waited. Cloud continued. “It’s just...I want to prove to myself that I am capable of being more than whatever people think I am. I am more than just being this scrawny little kid who falls down and gets into fights with all the neighborhood kids.” He then sighed. “It’s just complicated.”

“This girl...do you think you’ll see her when we go to Nibelheim?”

“Probably,” Cloud admitted. He shook his head. “But, I don’t want her knowing that I’m coming or that I’m there.”

“Just because you didn’t make SOLDIER?” Zack said, raising an eyebrow. “Are...you not planning to go see anyone while we’re there?”

“Nope,” Cloud said flatly. Then he felt his heart sink. His mother didn’t know that he was on his way home, and he debated whether he would want to tell her that he was a failure too. Two years without writing her, he knew that she was probably worried and whether he was doing OK. “Well...I don’t know.”

Zack seemed to have read Cloud’s thoughts and he sighed. “Well, you should at least go see your mom. I bet she really misses you. And hell, from what you’ve told me about her, she doesn’t really care about what title you have. Just wants to see and hear from her son.”

Cloud shrugged, but it did raise some questions. He really should think about at least visiting his mom if it has to be anyone from town. No one else. The conflicted emotions he had about anyone finding out that he was coming home would damage any pride he had left. 

He didn’t want to face the humiliation of folks nodding and affirming their own assumptions that Cloud would ultimately fail and never make SOLDIER. What a mess it was. Zack seemed to read Cloud’s mind, as the elder boy then tried to make light of the visit ahead of them. 

“Hey, you never made it into SOLDIER, but it’s what’s in here that counts,” Zack said, pounding his chest. Cloud nodded, feeling his knees buckle. It was true, but he felt it was probably easier said than not since Zack was already in SOLDIER. 

“Thanks.”

“No problem,” Zack said, waving him off. The man slowly started heading inside. “Coming?”

“Yeah.”

Just as Cloud started heading back to the barracks, a shooting star streaked across the sky. His blue eyes followed the tail of the star, stardust floating into the endless pools of the heavens. At that precise moment, he wished he could see if maybe the one person in the world he thought about saw the same shooting star.

“Someday, I’ll make you proud of me,” Cloud muttered. “Maybe I’ll get strong enough where you’ll have to notice me...until then...good night, Tifa.”

* * *

Thousands of miles away at the base of Mt. Nibel, the sleepy village of Nibelheim was turning in for the night. The townspeople were bidding a good evening to one another before nestling into their houses to keep the mountain chill from entering. 

A young woman was standing in front of her house, breathing in the mountain air. Her long hair trailed down her back as she stretched. It was a long day of acting as a guide for those passing through the village and through the mountains, mostly to see the spectacle that was Mt. Nibel. 

Tifa Lockhart blossomed into a beautiful young lady within the last two years. No longer was she the dreamy-eyed idealist who hoped for a hero to come and save her from danger. Lately, she took that into her own hands and became a prodigy in martial arts. No one dared to try and take her on willingly. 

So, most of the time, the boys left her alone, knowing she’d try to rebuff their advances. That was how her father, Brian Lockhart, preferred it. 

“Tifa!” 

“Yes, Papa?”

“Hurry up on in! It’s getting cold out. You wouldn’t want to catch something.”

“Yes, Papa.”

With that, Brian returned inside of the house, quietly shutting the front door behind him. Tifa shivered as she was left alone to take a moment before heading inside for the night. However, she didn’t want to go home right away. 

Instead, she decided to take a short walk out to the center of the village, where the familiar water tower stood. Tifa hopped up the ladder and decided to take a seat on the side of the platform. Normally, this was a date spot and she had seen a couple young teens come through here. Not that Tifa really knew much about it. 

She was asked several times to come and hang out there, but she never went. Not since the first time she got asked by her neighbor, Cloud Strife. He was a year older than her and he always lived next door, but they never talked much. It was strange why they never did, and for whatever reason, her father disliked Cloud. 

But, Tifa always took that with a grain of salt and always tried to be friendly with Cloud whenever she spotted him in town. He never really returned a smile or a wave, and it seemed that there was always a distance between them. So, they weren’t really close or friends. When he asked her suddenly to come out to the water tower with him, it caught her completely by surprise. 

_ “We weren’t THAT close,”  _ Tifa thought to herself, swinging her legs off the platform.  _ “But, I thought it must’ve been important if Cloud needed to talk about something. He rarely ever does share what’s on his mind.” _

She recalled that night underneath the stars, and remembered how sad she felt when it turned out Cloud was leaving Nibelheim to pursue an ambition of becoming an elite SOLDIER, like the great war hero Sephiroth. She remembered seeing the soldiers every day during the Wutai War on the news, describing in detail what they were doing to push rebels back. 

Shinra had attempted to build a reactor in Wutai, but the people would not allow it. There was a massive conflict for years, sending military troops overseas to combat against the rebels. This lasted for years, and yet, when Shinra claimed victory, not much was heard after that and what happened to the village there. 

So, when Tifa saw that the war ended, she wondered if Cloud would appear on television and fulfill his dreams in becoming a SOLDIER. She never saw mention of him, and thought perhaps he was obligated to another mission farther away and that he couldn’t be bothered to help end the war in Wutai. 

_ “He must be doing pretty well for himself,” _ Tifa thought to herself.  _ “I wonder...how hard it must’ve been to get into SOLDIER? I wonder...will he ever come back home?” _

Tifa sighed. She stared up into the sky. Now 15, she was one of the few remaining girls in town. Most children her age decided to head for Midgar instead and find work elsewhere, while she stayed behind to care for her father and brush up on her martial arts skills with Zangan, her teacher and mentor. 

This life she had in Nibelheim was peaceful, but she often wondered if this was truly the place where she was meant to be. To grow up here and to die here. To return to the Planet and repeat the cycle over and over again. It seemed...mundane, but Nibelheim has been the only place Tifa ever really known. 

She felt a trickle of a tear slide down her cheek as she remembered that her mother was also buried here. There was a saying that the spirits of those who died crossed through Mt. Nibel, and would enter the Promised Land on the other side. Tifa wondered if her mother had truly crossed over and found peace wherever she was. 

_ “I wonder if Mama can see me now.”  _ Tifa had always wondered whether she’d resemble her mother. Though it had been a long time since her mother passed away, she was starting to forget what her mother sounded like and what she even looked like. 

The warm afternoons baking cookies, playing piano duets together and even taking a short walk to the village general store together to find ingredients for a family supper made Tifa teary eyed. Those were the days she remembered from her early childhood in Nibelheim, but with time passing, she was starting to forget her mother. 

And...she was afraid of losing more parts of herself to the way life was forcing ahead and making her leave certain things behind. In some ways, growing up without a mother seemed daunting. But, Tifa always tried to keep it locked within her own heart. Her father needed her, and she couldn’t lose time hoping that things would get better. 

Tifa sighed and slowly rose from the platform. It was already late, and her father probably waited for her inside their house before turning off the lights. Sure enough, she could see the faint glow of the lamp upstairs, signaling that he couldn’t sleep without his daughter home safe and sound. It gave her a small amount of comfort. 

Just as she was about to take steps down from the water tower, she paused. Suddenly, a glow from the heavens prompted Tifa to look upwards and saw a shooting star streak across the expanse of the universe. Her ruby eyes widened at the phenomena and her gaze softened. A small smile started growing on her face. 

“I hope you found whatever it is that you’re looking for,” she said with a smile. “Until then...maybe we’ll see each other again. I hope so. It’s been a long time.”

With a wistful look at the night sky Tifa bowed her head. “Good night, Cloud.”

  
  



End file.
